Sewing
A journey from upcycled tote bags to custom wardrobe staples
Company/ Client
Personal Project
Role
Designer
Skills
Pattern Making
Tools
Sewing Machine Serger
Duration
2024
Overview
I learned how to sew to better understand how consumer soft goods are produced. I followed patterns, took apart shirts to create my own patterns, and developed new patterns from scratch. I began by making tote bags from upcycled jeans and have since progressed to crafting wardrobe staples. Utilizing sewing machines, sergers, and a laser cutter, I refined my skills and techniques throughout this journey and look forward to implementing them in future projects.
Totebags
Starting with basic sewing tutorials, I made a customized bag for my father, who is a professor and needed a bag with separate compartments for his laptop, lunch, accessories, and easy-to-access spaces for his hard drives and phone.
After mastering tutorials, I designed and sewed my own bag by sourcing fabric from unused jeans. I used a variety of scrap fabrics, which showed me how different fabrics have different elasticities and bias directions, requiring different settings such as thread tension and foot height.
Sewing Custon Bags for Dogs
After learning how to sew and adjusting settings according to fabric properties, I identified a problem. I like to carry my dog, but there weren't any bags that fit her properly. I needed a thick canvas bag with rigidity to hold my dog, with pockets to store dog shoes and poop bags, and a cutout for her head. I used my product design skills to sketch, prototype, and sew a dog bag. After one iteration, I realized the head slot needed to be bigger, and the bag needed a carabiner to hold keys and clip my dog's harness for safety. After these edits, I received requests to produce dog bags for my whole family. Now, each dog can be comfortably carried around.
Custom Shirts
After observing how simple shirts were made, I used my sewing analytical skills to safely disassemble and trace existing shirts. I then re-engineered my favorite shirt designs using fabrics of my choice. This process allowed me to create unique, personalized shirts that fit perfectly and reflect my style. By deconstructing and analyzing each piece, I gained a deeper understanding of garment construction and honed my ability to craft custom clothing tailored to individual preferences. Each shirt is a testament to my journey in mastering the art of sewing and design.
Notebook Cover
As someone who is constantly on the go, I needed a notebook cover that can sustain the harsh environments of a students backpack that also includes a simple compartment for essentials (wires, pencils, pens, erasers). Without access to a sewing machine, I used my sewing skills to make the cover by hand. I applied my expertise with a sewing machine to my hand sewing practices (tension control, consistent stitch length, etc).
